Toy railroad track switch



May 28, 1940. J. L. BONANNO I TOY RAILROAD TRACK SWITCH Filed Nov. 26,1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 0 4 mm WB L h O J ATTORNEY y 1940- J. L. B-ONANNO2,202,546

TOY RAILROAD TRACK SWITCH Filed Nov. 26, 1937 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTOR JOSEPH 4.. EONANNQ.

ATTO R N EY Patented May 28, 1940 2,202,546 TOY RAILROAD TRACK swrron.losephL. Bonanno, Forest Hills; N. 'Y. assignor I f to The LionelCorporation, New York, N; Y... a corporation of New York ApplicationNovember 26,1937, Serial No. 176,525

11-01mm. (or. 24e-"-219)* l he present invention relates to toy railroadtrack switches.

.The present invention contemplates toy "rail road track switches havingtrackage unitsadapted for complete preassembly and operating units alsoadapted for complete. preassembly, so that when atrackage unit and anoperating unit are fastened together all mechanical and electricalconnections extending between the two units are completed.

0: The trackage unit of the present invention contemplates the use of acast base (generally a die casting) whichsimulates the appearance of theroadbed of a railroad, in that it has tie simulating elements in its.upper surface. This casting also preferably has integral upwardlyextending prongs adapted to receive the fixed rails and'be I bent overonto the bases of these rails to secure The casting is also preferablythem in place. 'provided' with an integral frog element to provide 20, ashort length of wheelbearing rail area'and integral anti-derailingdevices opposite this frogelement. The fixed insulated andwheel bearingrails and shiftable switch tongue are secured to this base, and the baseis also adapted to carry ,25 certain contacts whereby current may be--conducted from the power rail and insulated sections on wheel bearingrail to control elements embodied. in the operating unit to bedescribed.

According to the present invention the operating unit is also apreassembled structure. It has a. reciprocable tongue shifter adaptedto, be operated either by electromagnets or mechanically,

and. is provided with a fixed contact adapted to receive energy from thepower rail of the trackage unit and supply a signal lamp and thecircuits for the magnet coils. where the trackage unit is of theelectromagnetic type. This unitalso is provided withself-disconnectingswitches adapted to open the circuit for one of the solenoid coils afterit has functioned toshift the switch. The

operating unit is also associated with a' remote control unit whereby-acoil may be energized to shiftgthe switch tongue. The circuit for thisremote control includes. two lamp bulbs, each arranged in series withone of the coils, so that,

when the circuit to a coil has been established by the shifting of. theswitch tongue to one positicn, the corresponding lamp is lighted therebygiving a remote indication of the position of the switch tongue. Wherethe track switch is of the type having an automatic non-derailingfeature,

according to which the switch tongue is shifted to anticipate the.arrival of the train from the branch track against which it haspreviously been set, the circuits, for the signal lamps areautomatically, changed in the same way. as though the switch wereshifted by the remote control.

A further object, of the present invention. is to provide trackage.units and control operating units which can be assembled withtheoperating unit .5;

to. the right or the left of the trackage unit as convenience indicates,it being merely necessary to.

reverse the-assemblage, whereupon allwiringconnections. areautomatically reestablished in'the same relation as before;

A further object of the invention is, to provide trackage units andoperating units in which to. a largeextent the same parts are employedin mechanically operated switches as in thejelec trically operatedswitches. V r 1 5 Other and further objects will appear as thespecification proceeds. 3

. The accompanying drawings showffor purposes of illustrating thepresent invention one of the many forms in which the invention may take20 form, together withmodifications of certain parts, it beingunderstoodtthat the drawings are 111115? trative of the invention ratherthan limitingthe same.

In these drawings:

. Figural is a top plan; view of a complete right I hand track switchwith the. operating unitshown in full lines on the "outward side of thetrack ing of the switch tongue;

Figures 2a, 2b and 2c are fragmentary sectional views taken on the'lines2a--2a, 2b -2b and Zea-2c, respectively, of Figure 1; v 40 Figure 3 is across sectional viewonthe line 3.3 of Figures 1 and 4, showing thetrackage unit and the operating unit jointly;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the broken line 4.-4 of Figure 3',showing the switch tongue 45 shifting mechanism lockedv in the extremeleft position;

Figure 5.. is a fragmentary view showing the switch tongue shiftingmechanism making the initialmovement for shifting the tongue'to the 5:;

right; I I I Figure 6 is a fragmentary'view illustrating the position ofparts when theswitchtongue is completely shifted to theright and lockedin position;

v Figure 'lis a fragmentary sectional yiewon the .55

line 1-! of Figure 4, showing the fixed and movable bridging contacts;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 8--8 of Figure 4,showing the lamp mounting;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 9-9 of Figure 4,showing the magnet mount- Figure 10 is a diagrammatic view illustratingthe electrical connections for a right hand switch with the operatingunit on the outside, as shown in full lines in Figure 1;

Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 10, showing the electricalconnections for a right hand switch with the. operating unit on theinside;

Figure 12 is a top plan View of the operating unit for a mechanicallyoperated track switch, parts being broken away to show interior construction; and 3 Figure 13 is a vertical sectional view on the linel3-l3 of Figure 12.

The base for the trackage unit section is indicated at 20. It has aseries of tie simulating elements 2| spaced along the upper surface andthese are provided with prongs 22 which are adapted to be folded over onto the bases of the rails, as will appear particularly clearly in Figure20.

These rails include long straight and curved wheel bearing rails 23 and24 carried at the outside of the base, and extending beyond the base atthe right, as indicated in Figure l; insulated lengths of power rail 25and 26, insulated as shown and extending to the right as indicated inFigure 1; short lengths of wheel bearing rail 21 and 28 extending totheright, as indicated in Figure l; and two short lengths of wheel bearingrail 29 and 3!! insulated from the base. The outer ends of the rails 23,25 and 2'! are secured to a crosstie 3|, while the extended ends of therails 24, 26 and 28 are secured to a crosstie 32.

The ends of the rails 36 and 2'! are spaced apart, and the ends of therails 29 and 28 are spaced apart, and intermediate these ends thecasting 20 is provided with an upwardly extending frog element 33.Opposite this frog element the casting is provided with ground rails oranti-derailing devices 34. The fixed rails 23, 30 and 2'! with theinterposed portion of the frog33 will conduct the Wheels of a toyrailroad truck through the main line, while the rails 24, 28, 29 and thefrog element 33 will conduct them through the branch line.

The shiftable switch tongue is indicated at 35. It is pivoted at 35 andhas rail forming elements 31 and 38 which are adapted to formcontinuations of the fixed rails, so as to guide the truck through themain or branch line. Its free end is held down by a headed rivet 39.

A portion of the power rail common to both branch and main lines isindicated at 40. The left end 40a is insulatedly secured to the base byprongs 22 bent over on insulation as above described. The right hand end4| of this section of power rail is mounted on an insulator 42 securedabout a pin 43, which is insulatedlymounted in the base 20. The lowerend of the conducting pin 43 is connected by wires 44 and'45 with thepower rails 25 and 26 of the main and branch lines, so as to form acontinuous power circuit. These wires-are insulated from the base byinsulating sleeves one of which is indicated at 46.

The power rail element 40 is provided with a downwardly extending springcontact 41 which passes through the aperture 48 in the switch tongue 35,and through the aperture 48' in an insulating plate 49. This plate 49 issecured to the base casting 20 by rivets, indicated at 50, and the pin39 and covers a large aperture 5! provided in the casting under theswitch tongue. The plate 49 carries a conducting strap 52 which isdisposed adjacent the straight wheel bearing rail 23. This strap issecured in place by rivets, indicated at 53 and 54, and one of theserivets carries a downwardly extending integral pin 55 for a purpose tobe described. The other end of the strap 52 extends down through theinsulating plate 49 to provide a terminal indicated at 56. Theinsulating plate 49 also carries a second downwardly extending pin 51similar to the pin The pin 51 and the terminal 56 are connected bywires, indicated at 58 and 59, with the insulated sections of wheelbearing rail 29 and 38, respectively, so that the contacts 55 or 51 maybe grounded when a truck stands on the rails 29 and 24 or on the rails23 and 30.

When the insulating plate 49 is to be used for a left hand switchinstead of a right hand switch, the strap 52 is mounted in the lower setof holes appearing in the plate 49 and the contact 51 is mounted in thehole provided for the rivet 54.

The base. casting 20 is provided with lateral extensions 63 and 5!opposite the wide end of the aperture 5|, and these lateral extensionshave downwardly extending flanges 62, 63 which provide a transversedownwardly opening channel to receive the base 64 of the switch tongueoperating unit. This base is secured to the cast base of the trackageunit by two screws, indicated at 55 and 55, the base 34 engaging lugs 61carried by the casting 20, as indicated in Figure The base 54 isstiffened by side flanges 58 and 59, notched as indicated at 68 and 59'over the wires 53 and 59. The end under the trackage unit is providedwith an end flange, indicated at it. Two insulating plates H and 12 aresecured to the base plate 54 by rivets" indicated at '13. The upperplate ll carries four fixed contacts i4, l5, l3 and 17, arranged inpairs as indicated in the drawings. These fixed contacts have extensions14', 75','16 and H which overlie the bottom insulating plate 12 andwhich are disposed in position to be contacted by the contacts 55 and Elcarried by the trackage unit, so that diagonally opposite fixed contactsmay be connected in circuit. The conductor strap 18 is also, securedbetween the two insulating plates H and '12, and the plate 'H'is notchedat 78 to expose the ends of this strap. These ends are located so thatone or the other of them will be engaged by the spring contact 4'!carried by the power rail of the trackage unit, whereby current can'beconducted to the strap 18.

An insulating bar 79 is reciprocably guided above the insulating plate.ll by fixed pins 80, 8! which enter slots 82 in the bar 79. Thisreciprocatory bar has an upwardly extending pin 83 which passes upthrough a slot 84 in the insulating plate 49 carried by the trackageunit, and enters a hole 85 in the switch tongue 35. The reciprocatorybar 79 also carries bridging contacts 86 and 8'! adapted to connect thecontacts '14 and 75, or. to connect the contacts 16 and '1? dependingupon whether the bar is in the left position, as shown in Figure 4, orin the right position, as shown in Figure 6.

The outer end of the bar 79 has a pin 88 which enters a slot 89 in aslider 90. The opposite end of the slider 90 is connected by a pin 9|with an a cured to the base platebyrivet lit.

contact Iiil is connected bya wire I05 with the control to be described.

armature 92: carried inside-two aligned solenoid coils 93- and 9.4.These coils are mounted on tube 95: which extends between the downwardlyI02 is connected to the midpoint of thetwo coils '93 and 9 5 and isconnected by a wire I04 with the conducting strap :78, so that themidpoint of the coils is energized from the power rail. The

fixed terminal I I, and the terminal I03 is connected by-a wire I06 withthe fixed terminal TI. The fixed terminal I5 is connected bya wire I'Iwith a binding post I08 carried by the plate 99. This plate also carriesa binding post I09 which is connected by a wire I 90 with the terminal'I6, and a grounded binding post 'I I I. The wires just mentioned extenddown alongside the side flanges 58 and 69, and the binding posts I00,I09, III'are adapted for connection to a remote The slider 90 isprovided with a rack, indicatedat II2, which is in mesh with a pinion H3se- This pinion carries two upwardly extending arms H5, and

is adapted to be turned a quarter of a revolution when the slider ismoved from one position to another. The slider also has acam IIScooperable with a locking finger Ml pivoted on a screw H8 and biased ina clockwise direction by a spring I I9. .The free end I20 of thislocking finger is adapted to enter into a notch IEI in the reciprocatoryoperator F9, or to fall behind the end of this operator, as will beclear from Figures 4 and 6, was to lock the operator in either extremeposition. The slider 99 is held adjacent the bottom plate by a bridgingstrap UI22 which carries a lamp socket I23 connected I by a wire I23with the wire IMQ The magnet coils and operating mechanism 0 outsidethe-trackage unit are concealed by a plate by screws indicated atv E25.

1 signal element I28.

The remote control is diagrammatically illustrated'in Figure 10. Itconsists of a multiple conductor cable having three wires, indicated atI32, I33 and I34 connected to the binding posts.

I09, III and I08, respectively, and a controlunit diagrammaticallyindicated by the dotted box I35.

, The lamp G is connected to the wire i3 4, while the lamp R isconnected to the lamp I322. The

two lamps are connected'to a common terminal I36 which is connected tothe ground wire it.

This terminal I36 is provided with a switch member I3'I biased to aneutral position which can be shifted to the right or to the left, so asto short circuit the corresponding lamp G or R. 7 Assuming that thestructure is assembled as shown in Figures 1 to 10, according to whichthe.

mechanism is set to carry the train through the branch line. It will beapparent that a. circuit is completed from the power rail '49 throughthe operated by the armature;

The cover has a This control unit carries two lamps, one 7 indicated atG, and the other indicated at R.

contact 41, the strap 18, wire I M, coil 9.4; wire I05, terminal 'Idfl'contact "I4, bridging strap 80,. contact .I5, termina1' I5, wire I01,binding post; I08, wire "I34, lamp G, wire I33 to ground, and

then through. the base of the control unitand] the trackage unit to. thereturn track rail: Thelamp (3 is therefore in series with the coil 94.;

but it has so high a resistance as notto ener.'-

gize the coil enough to have it attract the armature. If one operatesthe switch element I.3'II to short circuit the'lamp G suflicientfcurrent fiows through the coil 94 to shift the mechanism This will turnthe signal I 23 and will shift the, switch tonguecto. the otherposition, also will shift the fixed bridging strap 86 off the-contactslMtand 15. opening the" circuit for the coil 94', and at the same timewill bring the strap 81 onto the contact I6. and 11, so as. to establisha circuit through the coil 93 and the lamp R. Should the insulated rail29 on the trackage unit'be grounded by a:

, comes that shown in Figure 11'- and the same reference characters areapplied to thesame parts.

- show that the automatic operation either from.

Tracing the circuits of Figure 1.1 will remote control or: from theanti-derailing contacts 29 and 30 is identically the same as previouslyset forth. Furthermore I the switch tongue operating units and controlunits may be identical for right hand and 'for left handswitches, sothat one set of tools and one set of structure suffice for allconditions.

' Where the switch is to be operated by mechanical. control instead. ofelectrical control, thetruckbridging from this rail to the groundedstructure shown in Figures 12 and 13 is substituted for that shown inFigures 3 to 9. .I-lerethe plate 64' is shorter than the plate '64, and

the slider 90' is provided with an extension I' which was shown intheelectromagnetically operated device, the contacts for the coilconnections being omitted, but the contacts 78 being retained so theycan be connected by a wire I56 with the lamp socket int'ne same way thatthe wire I23 connects the lamp" socket in FigureA. The same lockingfinger III may also be employed I i It is obvious that the invention maybe embodied in'many forms and constructions within the scope of theclaims and I wish it to be understood .that. the particular form shownis but one of the many forms; Various modifications and changes beingpossible, I do not otherwise limit myself in any way with respectthereto.

What is claimed is: v j

1, In a trackage unit for toy railroad track switches, a cast base,outside uninterrupted main and branch line wheelibearing rails, a shiftable switch tongue secured to the base between said outside rails,diverging wheel bearing rail"'eleparallel with an outside rail anddisposed opposite thereto to convey the wheels of one side of a toyrailroad truck to and from the tongue, the base having an apertureunderneath the tongue and adjacent rails, a contact-carrying insulatingplate closing the aperture, wires connected with the insulated railelements and to contacts on the plate, movable switch elementscooperable with said contacts to control circuits including theinsulated rail elements, and means for shifting the tongue and theswitch elements simultaneously.

2. A toy railroad track switch having a trackage unit comprising a base,fixed main and branch line rails and a switch tongue carried by thebase, the base having a downwardly opening transverse channel underneaththe free end of the tongue, and a switch tongue operating unit occupyingsaid channel and having a slidable member below the switch tongue andconnected to it, a base under the switch tongue operating unit and atthe same level as the base of the trackage unit, an operating mechanism1ater-' ally of the track unit, and a cover for the operating mechanism.

3. In a toy railroad track switch; a trackage unit comprising a base,fixed main and branch line wheel bearing and power supply rails carriedby the base, a shiftable switch tongue for guiding car trucks and adownwardly extending contact carried by the power rail; a switch tongueoper ating unit having a base; and means to secure the bases of theunits together so that the operating unit extends laterally to eitherside of the trackage unit, the operating unit having a pair of insulatedcontacts connected together and disposed so that one or the other ofthem is in contact with the power rail contact, a current consumingdevice carried by the operating unit and connected to said contacts; andtongue shifting mechanism.

4. In a toy railroad track switch; a trackage.

unit comprising a base, fixed main and branch line wheel bearing andpower supply rails, carried by the base, a portion of one of the wheelbearing rails of each line being insulated, fixedly carried contactsconnected with each insulated rail, a downwardly extended contactcarried by the power rail, and a shiftable switch tongue; a switchtongue operating unit having a base; and means to secure the two basestogether so that the operating unit extends laterally to either side ofthe trackage unit, the operating unit having a reciprocable switchtongue operator, an armature connected to the switch tongue operator, apair of solenoid coils for operating the armature, a fixed contactconnected with each coil and co-operable with the power connectedcontact to supply current to the coils, two pairs of fixed contacts, onecontact of each pair being connected with the other side of one of thecoils, the other of said fixed contacts being engageable by the fixedcontacts carried by the trackage unit and connected with the respectiveinsulated wheel bearing rails, the particular pairs of contacts beingbrought into engagement depending upon the direction in which theoperating unit extends, and movable contact means operable with saidoperator adapted to connect one or the other of said pairs of fixedcontacts.

5. A track switch for toy railroads having fixed main and branch linewheel bearing and power supply rails, a portion of the wheel bearingrails of each line being insulated, a shiftable switch tongue, switchtongue shifting mechanism including a reciprocable tongue shiftercarrying a pair of movable contacts, pairs of fixed contacts, one pairof which is bridged by one of the movable contacts when the shifter isin position, while the other pair is bridged by the other movablecontact when the shifter is in the other position, two solenoid coilseach having a terminal connected to the power rail, each coil having aterminal connected to one of the fixed contacts of each pair, anarmature for operating the shifter, two lamps each connected with one ofthe other fixed contacts and to the uninsulated wheel bearing rails sothat one lamp is in series with thecoil whose coil circuit isestablished by the bridging contact and concurrently lighted, and ashort circuiting switch for shunting the lighted lamp so that sufiicientcurrent may flow through the corresponding coil to actuate the shifter.

6. A track switch operating unit comprising a fiat elongated base, acoil supporting plate secured to the rear end of the base plate,solenoid coils carried between the two plates and having a commonconnection, binding posts carried by the second plate, an armature, areciprocatory, armature-operated switch tongue shifter spaced above thefront end of the base, guides for the shifter, insulating plates betweenthe base and the shifter, two pairs of contacts secured to the upperinsulating plate and insulated from the base by the other insulatingplate, two shifter carried contacts each adapted to bridge one pair offixed contacts when the other is out of contact with its associatedpair, a wire from the exposed terminal of each coil to the one of thecontacts of each pair, a wire from each of the other contacts of eachpair, to a binding post,

and an insulated contact carried by the insulating plates and connectedto the common connection of the coils.

'7. A track switch operating unit such as claimed in claim 6 having aremote controller having two lamps each connected to one of the bindingposts, connections from the opposite sides of the lamps to the base, anda lamp short circuiting switch.

8. A toy railroad track switch having a trackage unit comprising a base,fixedmain and branch line rails and a switch tongue carried by the base,and a switch tongue operating unit comprising a base, tongue shiftingmechanism carried thereby and including a reciprocable member having aquick detachable pin and slot connection with the switch tongue, andmeans to connect the bases of the units together so that the base of theoperating unit extends completely across the base of the trackage unitand so that the free end of the operating unit may extend laterally ateither side of the trackage unit, the bottom of the trackage unit baseand the bottom of the tongue operating unit base being in the sameplane.

9. A toy railroad track switch having electromagnetically operatedswitch tongue shifting mechanism provided with two operating coils eachconnected to a power rail and to a tongue actuated disconnecting switchtherefor, a signal mechanically set coincidentally with the operation ofthe tongue, and a remote controller for the shifting mechanism includingtwo signal lamps each connected to ground and adapted to be in serieswith only one coil of the shifting mechanism and a switch having oneside grounded and adapted to short circuit either lamp to increase theflow of current through the corresponding coil so that the tongue isshifted to show the other mechanical signal and a circuit is establishedthrough the other signal lamp.

10. A toy railroad track switch as claimed in claim 9, havingsupplemental pairs of contacts, each pair closing a circuit through thecorre sponding coil whereby the coil is energized with,

out operating the remote controlled.

11. The combination with a toy railroad track switch including main andbranch tracks having electromagnetically operated switch tongue shiftingmechanism having coils interconnected with self-disconnecting switchesand a'remote control switch, and auxiliary controls for the tongueshifting mechanism including current 1 controllingmeans in each branchtrack whereby circuit byrthe operation of the other coil. in shiftingthe switch tongue being energized whereby 1 the position of the switchtongue will be indicated irrespective of which control is used,

JOSEPH L. BONANNO.

